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Review
. 2021 Mar 11:12:620566.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.620566. eCollection 2021.

The Centrality of Obesity in the Course of Severe COVID-19

Danfei Liu  1 , Tongyue Zhang  1 , Yijun Wang  1 , Limin Xia  1
Affiliations
Review

The Centrality of Obesity in the Course of Severe COVID-19

Danfei Liu et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a global public health challenge. Most patients do not experience severe complications, but approximately 25% of patients progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and the mortality rate is approximately 5-7%. Clinical findings have determined several risk factors for severe complications and mortality in COVID-19 patients, such as advanced age, smoking, obesity, and chronic diseases. Obesity is a common and serious health problem worldwide that initiates a cascade of disorders, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The presence of these disorders is linked to a more severe course of COVID-19. Given the "epidemic" of obesity worldwide and the importance of obesity in the progression of COVID-19, we investigated the mechanisms through which obesity increases the susceptibility to and severity of COVID-19 to support the selection of more appropriate therapies for individuals with obesity.

Keywords: COVID-19; obesity; obesity-associated comorbidities; pathophysiology; therapeutic strategies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The centrality of obesity in the course of severe COVID-19. Schematic demonstrating the interaction between obesity and multiple body systems, contributing to severe COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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